Department of Special Education

Admissions

Pre-Admission Requirements for all Candidates

Students interested in majoring in Special Education, Early Childhood/Special Education (ECSE), or Elementary Education/Special Education (EESE) must first gain admission to Towson University. Admission to the university, however, does not guarantee admission to the Special Education, Integrated EESE or ECSE majors. Students must complete a Declaration of Intended Major Form available online at http://onestop.towson.edu at which time they will be assigned a Special Education adviser. All students applying for admission to a Teacher Education program at Towson University are required to complete a Criminal History Disclosure Form. This form is to be notarized and sent to the Department of Special Education to be kept on file.

Screening

Special Education is a screened major. All candidates for the Special Education, Integrated Elementary Education—Special Education and Integrated Early Childhood—Special Education majors will be ranked according to cumulative GPA in all college or university courses (transfer GPA and/or TU GPA).

To receive approval for admission, students are required to:

Take a speech and hearing screening

Have a cumulative GPA of 2.75 or higher (which includes grades transferred to and grades earned at TU)

Have completed ENGL 102 with a grade of C or higher

Have completed 60 or more units

Have passing scores on the Praxis Core, ACT or SAT at or above the level of standards established by the Maryland State Department of Education (Information on the Praxis tests is available in the Department of Special Education, Psychology Building 307)

Submit a writing sample

Screening occurs again for admission into student teaching. Students are required to have a cumulative GPA of 2.75 or higher and a GPA of 3.00 or higher in the major and must have completed a minimum of 90 units. All preservice students in Teacher Education programs at Towson University whose program of study require an intensive and extensive internship experience in a public or private school setting (pre-K through 12), are required to undergo a criminal background check before beginning this experience. The criminal background check must be filed with the Department of Special Education.

Transfer Students

Special Education Department personnel are responsive to the transfer student and will accept those credits which are compatible with the Core Curriculum requirements, Special Education, Integrated Early Childhood/Special Education and Integrated Elementary Education/Special Education majors and state certification requirements. Please note: although credits might qualify toward graduation, only an evaluation conducted by the Special Education adviser will determine which credits will also apply toward the major. Students must first have their transcripts evaluated by the Office of Admissions before requesting a special education transcript evaluation.

The Professional Year

Special Education majors follow the school system calendar for the Professional Development School to which they are assigned as interns. The professional year starts in August when the teachers begin the school year and follows the school system spring break schedule.

Students interested in applying to a special education major may obtain an application outside the Special Education Department office (located in Psychology Building, Room 307) on the Towson University campus. Deadlines for admission will appear on the actual application.